Independent Standard-Setting Boards

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board sets high-quality international standards for auditing, assurance, and quality control that strengthen public confidence in the global profession.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board establishes standards, in the area of professional accounting education, that prescribe technical competence and professional skills, values, ethics, and attitudes.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board develops standards, guidance, and resources for use by public sector entities around the world for preparation of general purpose financial statements.

Your Portal to Global Accountancy Knowledge, Resources, and News

Topic Areas  users can enter the Gateway through one of these 10 areas.

Topic pages include: Discussions, Resources, and News.

Users can Recommend Viewpoints, Discussions, and Resources and see which ones others found most valuable, as well as Suggest links and content to add to the Gateway.

Discussions  These topic-specific articles highlight developments and aim to stimulate comments. Readers can click through to join the conversation.

Resources  Each topic area features resources from IFAC, our members, and other international and national bodies, with descriptions and links to the resource (hosted on source/third-party site). Resources can be filtered by subcategory, source, and type.

Google Translate  Users can choose from among 80 languages to view the site.

Search  On every page, users can search the entire Gateway or just a topic area to narrow their results.

News  From major news outlets as well as the online press rooms of IFAC and its members, this curated newsfeed features general accountancy news on the Gateway home page and topical news on the corresponding topic pages.

Keep Updated  Users can log in or register to subscribe to The Latest, a bimonthly update that includes new Viewpoints and content in the areas they've selected.

Water is a resource under increased stress, with its management now cited as one of the greatest risks to business continuity and growth. In the big picture, water scarcity has been identified as the number one global risk to society over the next ten years by the World Economic Forum (WEF). From a human rights perspective, access to safe, clean drinking water supplies, hygiene, and sanitation are already risks in many world regions. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s Water Risk Map, which illustrates the countries and regions around the globe that already suffer from high water risk, confirms what the news media is also reporting—that China, India, the US, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Africa, Turkey, and Brazil are already facing this risk.

The world of the professional accountant working in public practice or in business is typically dominated by standards, regulations, and laws governing external financial reporting intended for the investment community and regulatory agencies. When financial information is presented or reported in any different form, it is often looked at with a certain level of suspicion and requests for reconciliation with the externally reported financial statement figures. This suspicion is a significant impediment to creating and using decision-useful management accounting information to provide internal insights and decision support. However, this is where management accounting information is most needed to create sustainable economic value.

In July 2002, regulations were adopted requiring all European Union (EU) companies with securities traded on a regulated market to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with International

The Global Knowledge Gateway contains links to third-party websites ("Linked Sites") that are not under the control of IFAC. IFAC assumes no responsibility or liability for any material that may be accessed on third-party websites reached through the IFAC site, nor does IFAC make any representation or warranties regarding the quality, accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information or service contained at any such site. IFAC provides links as a convenience, not to imply endorsement or to advocate the purchase of any product or service contained at any such site. Users are responsible for viewing and abiding by the privacy statements and terms of use posted at the Linked Sites. Email gateway@ifac.org to report broken links.

We Need Your Help!

ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. You may not reproduce, store or transmit in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, including photocopying, recording, or storage in any type of reference or information retrieval system, nor may you translate, modify or create derivative works or adaptations based on the text of any file, or any part thereof, without the prior written permission of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Please direct permission requests to permissions@ifac.org. See also Permissions Information.